I beg to differ to differ???? Anybody who can afford the monstrously expensive little toys can wear them, just as any woman can put on a ring, a bracelet, a pair of earings, a necklace. A tiara, while it may have all kinds of associations, is simply, in most but not all cases, a very beautiful piece of jewelry which any woman can wear. As we have seen even gorgeous tiaras on some of these, to not be too unkind, homely women, royal or not are flops. On drop dead gorgeous women, the divine CP Mary for instance, they are fantastic. Take the Desiree Clary parure, even if the DCP Mary were still Miss Mary Donaldson of Tasmania she would still look out of this world.

Go back to the Bible (Ie. Mr Munn's Tiaras) and see some of the 19th century goodies that some of the very nouveau riche Americans wore. They are a stitch. So if dame or whatever Elizabeth Taylor wants to wear a tiara, more power to her. If Tom Cruse or Brad Pitt want to buy some lovely goodie to bedeck the head of their latest inamorata more power to them. Better to look at some bijeaux on the head of one of Brad's "friends" wives or whatever than to go to a movie and view the entire, and I mean entire, back and backside of Mr. Pitt,(shades of the Hollywood take off on the Iliad) any day of the week, say I. Cheers. Thomas Parkman

You certainly can beg to differ to differ, Thomas

But, I do and will continue to find an object (that's current day orgins are, first and foremost, an expression of political and historical authoritarianism) associated with the ruling dynasty's to be greatly denigrated by those who wear them for no other purpose than to exhibit their Hollywood spoils.

Your last paragraph (with the exception of Dame Elizabeth. And only by good graces of being a Dame) is exactly what I mean. Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt purchasing a tiara for their 'beloveds'....need any more be said? Really.

I don't think that Elizabeth Taylor looked tacky in that tiara-I think the fact that she wore the tiara to the Academy Awards was tacky. It's an awards ceremony for a select trade, not a state banquet, or even a prestigious event such as the Nobel Prize ceremonial banquet. Wearing a tiara to the Oscars cheapens the prestige of wearing a tiara at all.

Traditionally in Britain tiaras were only worn by married women, the exception being that a bride could wear a tiara on her wedding day. You aren't going to see Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in tiaras any time soon, and I don't think there were many, if any, instances of Princess Anne or Princess Alexandra wearing tiaras as unmarried women, apart from Princess Alexandra at the Queen's coronation if I remember right.

Traditionally in Britain tiaras were only worn by married women, the exception being that a bride could wear a tiara on her wedding day.

Also, formerly married women such as Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Marie-Louise.

Elspeth, I have looked through what I have collected and found at least two different occurences of Princess Margaret wearing the Diamond Scroll Tiara at events other than QEII's coronation. She is wearing different dresses but her hair style and figure are the same as during the coronation. Did Margaret just "go against the grain" or was an exception made for her?

On that note, does anyone know why this tradition exists in Great Britain when most other countries use age 18 as an introduction to wearing tiaras?

Traditionally in Britain tiaras were only worn by married women, the exception being that a bride could wear a tiara on her wedding day. You aren't going to see Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in tiaras any time soon, and I don't think there were many, if any, instances of Princess Anne or Princess Alexandra wearing tiaras as unmarried women, apart from Princess Alexandra at the Queen's coronation if I remember right.

There are several photos from Princess Anne wearing a Tiara before her marriage, mistly she used the scroll Tiara also Princess Alexandra and Princess margaret have worn Tiaras before her marriage. Princess Alexandra used the greek-sneek necklace/Tiara which was sold after the death of her mother, but she wore no Tiara at the Coronation of the Queen because she was under age at that time.

To my monarchophile mind no royal lady is too young or old to wear a tiara. I think what makes tiaras special and emblematic is 1) the craftmanship and work that goes into them (hence the expense) and 2) the symbolism of royalty wearing them really sets them apart. I love seeing them worn by multiple generations of royal ladies and I can't really get the idea of movie stars or non-royal types wearing them. Call me a snob but I really think tiaras are the province of royals.

To clarify my earlier reasoning as why only royals should wear tiaras-I just think it more appropriate than having a movie star or oil tycoon's wife wear one. Seeing someone like Queen Silvia, Sofia, Margrethe, QEII in a fabulous tiara (or in days past someone like Empress Farah, Princess Marina, etc) in a stunning set, just seems to me to be the epitome of royal style and class. Just my own feeling.

I think tiaras are reserved for special occasions just like royals wear them. But for everyday people I think tiaras are accepted for weddings and that is about it. I mean I wouldn't wear a tiara except for my wedding.

As for what age? 18 is good IMO. A floral tiara such as the Strathmore is very suitable for a first tiara.

Of more interest, and relevant to the "age" discussion, are the Royal Family Orders she is wearing. As well as that of Elizabeth II (yellow), she is wearing the RFO of King George VI. Alexandra was born on Christmas Day 1936 and the King died on 6 February 1952, soon after she had turned 15. She must have received the King's RFO at a surprisingly young age, and the Queen's when she was 15 or 16.

Of more interest, and relevant to the "age" discussion, are the Royal Family Orders she is wearing. As well as that of Elizabeth II (yellow), she is wearing the RFO of King George VI. Alexandra was born on Christmas Day 1936 and the King died on 6 February 1952, soon after she had turned 15. She must have received the King's RFO at a surprisingly young age, and the Queen's when she was 15 or 16.

Yes but remember that both the Queen and Princess Margarete had/have the Family order of King George V. And Princess Margaret was only 5 years old when George V. passed away.

What was Princess Alexandra wearing on her head during the coronation service itself? It's traditional for women to have their heads covered in church, and royal women in the 1950s were nothing if not traditional.

Is this Princess Alexandra on the left? If so, she's got something on her head.

I've seen some photos of Princess Anne wearing small tiaras before she was married; I think the tradition of unmarried ladies not wearing tiaras is getting less rigid, just like a lot of other traditions. The Queen is rarely if ever seen without a pair of long gloves with her evening dresses; Diana, in contrast, very rarely wore them.

What was Princess Alexandra wearing on her head during the coronation service itself? It's traditional for women to have their heads covered in church, and royal women in the 1950s were nothing if not traditional.

Is this Princess Alexandra on the left? If so, she's got something on her head.

This may help solve the mystery. Here is a pic of the Duchess of Kent followed by the Duke of Kent and an un-tiared Princess Alexandra. Walking alongside the Princess's train-bearer is a page carrying what I assume is Alexandra's coronet.

Maxima wore a tiara long before she was princess maxima but she was then engaged to W-A

Silvia wore a tiara the night before her wedding

Mary wore tiaras twice before her wedding but just a few days before

And about the age for royals that are born royals, märtha louise, christina, elena, victoria and madeleine has all worn tiaras before their wedding all of them after the age of 18 i beleive. would be great to see a photo of each of them wearing a tiara for the first time

I wonder whether the etiquette for tiara use is different in different countries. In Britain I believe it is considered poor etiquette for one not of the nobility to wear a tiara. If you recall Diana, the daughter of an earl, wore a tiara to her wedding, but Sara wore a floral wreath until after the ceremony when it was removed and replaced with a tiara. I believe that the rules have also changed with time, as someone already stated, many of the nouveau riche in the early part of the 20th century owned tiaras, but I do wonder whether they wore them just about in American society or at royal occasions in Europe. Today though, one never sees "commoners" (non aristocracy) wearing tiaras in the presence of royalty. Even those families with royal ties, only use theirs for weddings and not to attend royal galas or functions to which they are invited.

In Britain, it used to be that you wore tiaras to the opera or the theatre. Then it was extended to film premieres and generally, any big entertainment event came with an evening dress label but then it all changed and now it's very very rare to see tiaras in public worn by commoners. Women sometimes wore tiaras to private dinner parties (a la Gosford Park) but that's non-existant now. It's very sad really. We shal never again see the glamour and the chimney sweeps of the Edwardian era.

I wonder whether the etiquette for tiara use is different in different countries. In Britain I believe it is considered poor etiquette for one not of the nobility to wear a tiara. If you recall Diana, the daughter of an earl, wore a tiara to her wedding, but Sara wore a floral wreath until after the ceremony when it was removed and replaced with a tiara. I believe that the rules have also changed with time, as someone already stated, many of the nouveau riche in the early part of the 20th century owned tiaras, but I do wonder whether they wore them just about in American society or at royal occasions in Europe. Today though, one never sees "commoners" (non aristocracy) wearing tiaras in the presence of royalty. Even those families with royal ties, only use theirs for weddings and not to attend royal galas or functions to which they are invited.

Sarah wore the tiara actually under the flowers. In some pictures you can see the top of the Tiara.

To clarify my earlier reasoning as why only royals should wear tiaras-I just think it more appropriate than having a movie star or oil tycoon's wife wear one. Seeing someone like Queen Silvia, Sofia, Margrethe, QEII in a fabulous tiara (or in days past someone like Empress Farah, Princess Marina, etc) in a stunning set, just seems to me to be the epitome of royal style and class. Just my own feeling.

I can't say that I think only royals should wear tiaras. But once I was in West Palm Beach, and this woman came to a charity dinner wearing a diamond tiara. In the United States, it looks positively pretentious and incredibly silly! Only THE MOST FORMAL events, even in royal circles, are tiara-worthy, so I strongly recommend that ladies who can afford them don't take them out to dinner every Friday night. I think that weddings are the perfect venue for them (that is for those of us who don't open sessions of parliament).

However, in the earlier part of the last century (ca. 1900-1940), it was pretty common for any woman whose family could afford a tiara to wear one to formal social events. In some ways tiaras were almost a necessity for society women (royal, noble, or bourgeoise) in that era. So MANY non-royal families in Europe and the Americas had tiaras. The distinction that I would make is that these are not the historic pieces of a royal family; so much of the power of a royal tiara has to do with its history.